Man left woman with broken cheekbone in violent attack

Burnley Crown Court heard Emmett Smith, 63, had been drinking with two others at his home on March 6, 2022.

The evening was going well until something was said that caused the woman to become upset, which led to her attacking Smith, throwing punches and trying to kick him in the groin.

Smith responded by grabbing hold of her as she tried to carry on punching him, and Judge Daniel Prowse said up until that point Smith was acting lawfully.

However, Smith then punched her in the face and, as Judge Prowse said, “kept punching her in the face.”

The Judge continued: “That led to quite a serious injury. You caused that injury in what was plainly far beyond self-defence.”

The court was heard the victim now suffers from flashbacks and emotional breakdowns, struggles to trust people, and has been left feeling self-conscious.

She was left with a fractured cheek, two black eyes, and a bloody nose as a result of the attack and had to have an operation under general anaesthetic to fix her cheekbone.

Smith was interviewed and maintained the defendant had been stood while he punched her “two to three times”, and maintained he was acting in self-defence.

He has previous convictions for similar offences, including assault, affray, battery, and common assault, which the judge said was an aggravating feature of this offence.

Mitigating for Smith, Jonathan Savage said it had been a long time since he was last before the courts, with his last conviction coming in 2013, and the stability he had garnered would be undone by a custodial sentence.

Smith, of Blacker Street, Burnley, pleaded guilty to one count of affray at a plea and trial preparation hearing.

The Crown offered no evidence to a second count of causing grievous bodily harm without intent, so a not guilty verdict was entered for that count.

He was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months.

He must also complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £250 compensation to the victim.